Becoming Grassfed Day 24: Adventure Hike and more

10/28/16

San Ignacio, Belize

Fridays are one of the few days that I don’t have anything scheduled, no meetings or classes to go to so I find myself looking for something to do so I can stay active and not waste a day staring at a computer screen.

I started the day off planning to fast, but the sight of an omelet quickly drew me away from that and closer to the idea of filling myself with healthy food. I brewed up some cat’s claw tea, made a watermelon smoothie with banana and chia, took my tonics, and enjoyed Rey’s famous veggie omelet. My weakness is the toast with homemade mango jam, not gluten free and a little more sugar than I would prefer but it is still decently healthy and super delicious.

With a full belly, I took my position in a hammock with a book and bottle of Kombucha…I was dead set on finishing “Sastun” before we headed to Placencia tomorrow, that way I can start a new book on the way. I read the last 40 pages, feeling like I had become such close friends with Rosita and Don Elijio that it was almost upsetting to finish. Not long after this I was packing up my backpack to head to Mary’s house for an adventure hike.

After walking for 25 minutes, a dude in a truck stopped and I hopped in the bed…continuing down the road and cutting out about 2 miles of the trip. I was still a mile or two away from the front of Mary’s road so I kept on walking until a friend from Pro-Organic stopped and gave me a lift the rest of the way, more Belizean kindness. I had made it this far, soaked in sweat I still had about half a mile down a gravel road until I made it to their driveway…“just keep truckin’” is all I could tell myself.

I finally made it to their place as she was finishing up some painting of her dining room chairs, not long after this we took off for an hour long hike up their 60 acres of beautiful landscape on the mountains. I thought about taking my camera and taking pictures but I wanted to be separated from my phone and fully experience the moment that I was in. After winding through trails we made it past Mayan ruins, small storage caves, and beautiful views to the top of the hill where they plan on building a house…this was the most magnificent view I have ever seen. They have awesome plans to build a house overlooking the mountains and valleys.

An hour or so after we left, we began the trek back down the mountain so I could catch a ride at 5 with the workers next door back to the lodge. The guys in the back of the truck with me were probably about my age, it was interesting to talk to natives who live much different lives than me but were able to enjoy the presence of one another. More adventures with beautiful people of Belize.

I made it back to the lodge and made an awesome salad with arugula, cucumber, green pepper, hummus, pickled onions, pickles, tomato, pico de gallo, and of course Himalayan Sea Salt/ Black Pepper. I like to have a big salad that fills me up, it actually gives me energy rather than making me feel all sluggish.

With dinner in the books, I spent the next 4 hours talking to the only guest at the lodge. An EMT and former Navy Submarine operator, the 60-year-old man and I had a really good talk as if we had known each other for ages. This may be my favorite part about the lodge, the idea that I can communicate with people that I would have never met before. I usually tend to strike up a conversation while they are eating dinner and afterwards they usually come over and sit with me. I had some stuff to do but I was enjoying our conversation so much that I put off my work and had a nice chat with him.

It is now about 12:30 AM and I am just now getting settled in for the night…I have to be up at 5 AM to get my bag packed for Placencia and head to the market at 6, we are hopping on the bus just after setting up at the Pro-Organic booth in the middle of the market. This is also fun time because I get to meet completely new people, sometimes this is the one and only time that I will ever talk to them but many people stick out in my memory long after Saturday morning.

Today was another good day, but tomorrow will be better. Market in the morning, bus to Belmopan then Placencia, BBQ with friends tomorrow night, and then hanging out at Mom’s Condo for the sunset and the rest of the weekend. Paradise Awaits.